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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chair — a leader
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. press — to push
  10. row — a line
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. roll — a list
  13. foot — a measure
  14. row — to paddle
  15. game — a match
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. roll — a cake
  18. game — wild animals
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. press — newspapers
  24. chair — a professorship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com